You're Special
by Enkeli69
Summary: AU-Roy Mustang is the principal of Amestris High, he is admired by students and fellow staff members alike. Edward and Alphonse Elric are new students. What happens when a rebellious Ed catches Principal Mustang's attention?
1. Chapter 1

"Aren't you even the least bit excited?" Alphonse asked his older-and shorter-brother as they walked to their school. Today was their first day, and Edward was being...well, difficult. Not that that was a surprise, it was just frustrating.

"No." The older brother kept his answer short. He was currently refraining from complaining, after all, it was technically his fault that they were in this situation. He decided to change the subject. "I wonder what Winry is up to."

"Well, she's probably enjoying her first day of school, unlike a certain grumpy-pants I know." Al said jokingly. Ed sighed.

"Of course she would, she's starting school with all the same friends and teachers and everything; she doesn't have to start all over." Ed replied bitterly.

"We would be too if you didn't get expelled." Al felt bad when he saw his brother wince. He didn't want to bring it up, but facts were facts. "You didn't have to beat Russ to a bloody pulp with your automail..." Al added.

Edward stopped in his tracks, instinctively covering his right arm. "You don't know the whole story, Al." He said simply, and then continued to walk, silently. Alphonse didn't push; he knew Ed wasn't going to tell him the reason why he had done what he did.

Ed decided to change the subject. "It's hot." He stated. He didn't like it when there was any sort of silence between him and his brother.

"Yeah, it's September. Why are you wearing pants and a coat?" Al was wearing a tang top, basketball shorts and flip flops. He knew that Edward was hiding his automail, so he quickly changed the subject, "You should cut your hair. You look like a girl with that braid."

"Shut up, Al." Ed muttered. They approached the school, and Ed gulped. "I don't have to tell you not to tell anybody about my arm and leg, do I?" Edward had worked hard to make sure that the information on his automail didn't get passed on to his new school. He didn't want anyone to know, not even the teachers. He also made sure to sweet talk the school nurse, Miss Rose, into writing him a doctor's note to excuse him from Gym-no dressing down for him.

"What class you got first?" Al asked, knowing that since he was a junior and Ed was a senior, they wouldn't have any of the same classes.

Edward pulled out his schedule (which had been folded up and shoved into his back pocket) and looked for his first class. "I got History with Mr. Havoc. That's a cool name." Ed was trying to be positive, more for Al's sake than his, but he also wanted this school to be different from the last, he was going to make sure that no one knew _any _of his secrets.

"That's cool; I get to TA (Teacher's Assistant) in the library with Ms. Sheska. Sounds pretty." Edward snorted at his brother's comment-Al was so _straight_.

"I'll see ya later." The two brothers split, and for the first time since the move, Ed felt alone. Even though he was early, Ed found his way to his first class, and entered the room, glad that no one was in there except the teacher. The teacher was tall and skinny, his hair was blonde short in the back, but his bangs were longer and kind of crazy. Ed was a bit surprised to see that he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth-could he really smoke here? Ed coughed to announce his presence, causing the teacher to jump and throw his cigarette out the window-apparently he couldn't smoke in here.

Mr. Havoc sighed in relief when he saw that it was a student, and not a staff member that had caught him smoking. He offered the kid a coy smile and said, "You don't tell anyone I was smoking and I'll sign a bunch of blank hall passes for you, sound good?" Edward was taken aback by the offer, but smiled back and agreed. "Cool. I don't really have a seating chart, so sit where ever the hell you want-crap! Don't tell anyone about me cursing, okay, Kid? It'll be our little secret. I'm Jean Havoc by the way, you can just call me Havoc, I don't really require the mister, unless you feel more comfortable with formalities."

Ed nodded. "Cool, I'm Edward, Edward Elric, but you can call me Ed, I don't like to be called mister Elric." All the teachers in his previous school had called him mister Elric, and he thought that was ridiculous, he was a student, not a teacher.

"Ah, you're the new kid. How do you like our school so far?" Havoc asked.

"It's better than I expected." Edward said honestly. The bell rang and more students filed in, and class began.


	2. Chapter 2

It was now lunch, and so far Ed's day wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. After History with Mr. Havoc (who was funny and really laid back) he had Math with Ms. Hawkeye (who was stern, but a very good teacher) then after that he had English with Mr. Hughes (who was very nice and overly expressive of his love for his family). After standing in line and getting chicken or hamburger-it was hard to tell exactly which- he spotted Al at a table and sat by him. Sitting with Al was a girl with short blonde hair.

"Hey, Ed! This is Martel, we have every single class together, isn't that strange?" Ed smiled at his brother. Al was seventeen now, so it wasn't surprising that he would be interested in girls, Ed just didn't think he would find a girl to like on the first day of school.

"It's nice to meet you, Martel." Ed said, shaking her hand (he made sure to use his _left _hand).

"You too, Al's really great, I'm new here too, so it's cool that I made a friend." She was looking at Al with a look that Ed knew all too well. She was completely smitten with his little brother. Then again, it was hard not to be, Alphonse was a charming young man.

"Did you make any friends, Ed?" Al asked hopefully. Edward had to refrain from saying Mr. Havoc was his friend, remembering that he was a teacher and didn't really count.

"Kind of," Ed said, not wanting to let his brother down. "I just talk to whoever I sit by, I don't really have classes with anyone more than once, you know? It will take a few days to get to know them. No one's been mean to me, but no one has really stuck out to me." Ed realized that he was babbling, so he stopped, taking a bite of his burger, crinkling his nose-it was chicken.

Edward had never really connected well with kids his age. At his old school, he usually ate lunch with his science teacher, Izumi. Technically she was Mrs. Curtis, but Ed had gotten to know her on a first name basis. When people at his old school found out about his automail, he became the butt of everyone's joke, and having a small, feminine body structure didn't help either. Edward never felt less masculine than any other male in the school (knowing from showers after Gym glass that he was much more well-endowed than most of the boys in his grade) but jokes about his height always pissed him off- he could handle the jokes about his automail, but he was sensitive about his height, especially since his little brother was already much taller than he was.

Al was going on about his day so far, and how he was excited for the rest of his classes. Ed wasn't as excited as his brother. His next class was Gym and he was worried that his note from Nurse Rose wouldn't work, and he didn't want to make a scene. He also didn't want anyone asking him any questions. Ed finished his lunch-making a mental note to pack his own from now on-and headed to the Gym, wanting to talk to the teacher before any students were there; maybe he could spend the class in the library or something.

Edward walked into the Gym and made a beeline to the only other person in there. The man was huge; it wasn't hard to see why he was the Gym teacher. "Um, Mr. Armstrong?"

The enormous man turned to Edward and smiled. "Well hello! You must be Edward; you're the only person in this class that I haven't met yet. Do you like our school so far?"

Edward smiled. "Yeah, um, it's great...I just wanted to give you this note." He handed the note to Mr. Armstrong and waited a minute before continuing. "It's from the nurse at my old school, her number is on there, if you need to call her...I just can't do Gym this year...health issues." Edward kept it at that, 'health issues' was a very broad spectrum; it could be anything.

Mr. Armstrong offered Ed a smile (or at least, Ed thought it was a smile, it was hard to tell under his moustache.) "You don't want to dress down, do you Edward?"

Edward's eyes widened at the question. "I-uh, no! I really can't, I have health problems, I-"

"You can be straight-forward with me, Edward, I won't tell anyone. If you can give me a good reason as to why I should let you sit out in my class, then I will. If not, I'm afraid I will need a note from your actual Doctor, not a school nurse."

Edward bit his lip. He didn't want anybody to know about his arm and leg, but it didn't seem like he had a choice. Edward sighed and set down his backpack. "I have a prosthetic arm and leg, and I don't want anyone to know." Ed said, defeated.

Mr. Armstrong didn't seem convinced. "You don't look like you have prosthetics, I know a few people with missing limbs, and they don't walk or move like you do."

Edward sighed. He hated explaining this. he pulled up his left pant leg and his right sleeve. "It's not a normal prosthetic, it's automail. It's connected to my nerves and is basically an exact robot replica of my arm and leg," he explained while Mr. Armstrong looked in awe. "I got made fun of a lot at my old school, and I really want this school to be different...so...please don't make me dress down." Ed pulled his sleeve and pant leg down.

Mr. Armstrong smiled. "Of course, Edward, you can sit out and watch or go to the library and study if you wish, just make sure to get a note from me if you are going to the library." Mr. Armstrong patted Ed's shoulder and left to set up the Gym for the upcoming class. Edward sighed in relief-disaster avoided...for now.

Edward decided to stay and watch the class. He didn't have any homework yet, so he really wouldn't have anything to do in the library. Several students glanced at Edward with curious eyes, though none of them asked why he wasn't participating, which was good. People seemed to be more polite in this school then his old one. He could tell that people wanted to ask him why he was wearing pants and a jacket in the summer, but no one did, and for that he was grateful.

When class was over Edward stayed to help Mr. Armstrong put away basketballs and other equipment, Mr. Armstrong thanked him. "You teach a sick class, Mr. Armstrong, I wish I could join in," Ed said honestly. He liked to be active, and, despite his vertical challenge, he was very good at basketball.

"You can join in anytime you want, Edward. I personally don't think you should have anything to worry about, I can assure you that no student of mine would humiliate anyone with any sort of handicap."

Ed frowned. "I don't think I have a handicap...I can function perfectly fine, my leg and arm aren't real, so what? I'm still just as functional if not more than most these kids." Edward never thought he had any special needs; there were kids a lot worse off than him.

"If you don't mind me asking, Edward, what happened?"

"I'll see you later Mr. Armstrong." Ed said quickly, grabbing his things and heading out to his next class. He had science with Mr. Fuery. Ed hoped that Mr. Fuery would be as cool as Mrs. Curtis, but he didn't count on it-no one was as cool as Izumi.

"Hey, you're Edward Elric, right?" Ed turned around to see a young boy, dressed in baggy clothes. He couldn't have been in a grade higher than a freshman.

"Yeah?" Ed said. He didn't want to be late to class.

"Hey, I'm Claus, I met your brother, Alphonse...Welcome to Amestris High, I hope you like it." Ed smiled at the boy; he was kind of cute, in a jailbait sort of way.

"Nice to meet you, Claus. Um, I'm going to be late to class, so I'll talk to you another time, ok?"

"Ok!" The boy said excitedly, then left. That was strange. Ed entered the science room five seconds before the tardy bell rang.

"Good timing, Miser...?"

"Elric. Edward Elric." Ed said.

"Elric. Do you prefer Edward or Ed?" Mr. Fuery asked, much to Ed's surprise. He never really was given that option before.

"Anything is fine." He finally replied.

"Alright, Edward. You may have a seat next to Paninya."

Edward obediently sat next to the tan, dark-haired tom-boy. She stuck out her hand for him to shake and he accepted, it was a quick, silent 'nice to meet you.' Ed was happy to know that he was way ahead of where his science class was at and started to doodle little circles with triangles and stuff in them.

When Mr. Fuery was done going over the outline for the semester, he stated that the students could talk with each other until the bell rang. Paninya turned to Ed. "Whatcha drawin?" She asked, leaning over Ed's shoulder. Her breast brushed his shoulder lightly and he moved so that there was no more contact.

"Transmutation circles. It's a part of Alchemy, the science teacher at my old school let me borrow her alchemy books for extra credit reading, it's pretty cool." Ed could tell that this girl wasn't really interested in anything that he was saying, but she was really good at pretending that she was.

"Oh! That's cool!" she said with a giggle. She sat back down in her desk, letting her hand stroke his arm as she did so. _'I hate it when girls flirt with me.' _Edward thought to himself. "I know you're new here, so, if you want you can come to this party I'm having tonight, meet some of the kids that go here and make new friends, what do ya say?" She handed Edward a piece of paper with her address on it.

"Can I take my brother?" Ed asked. He wasn't going to go anywhere without Al.

"Sure!"

"Then I'll think about it." Edward didn't really want to go to this party, he knew that there was most likely going to be alcohol and stuff there, and he didn't want this girl trying to get him drunk or anything. She was happy with the answer and chatted Edward's ear off for the rest of class. Ed was relieved to hear the bell ring, signaling the end of the school day.

In his hurry to get out of the school as fast as he possibly can, he ran directly into a freshman, knocking them over. "Oh, crap, sorry, I didn't mean to- Claus?" The freshman he knocked over was, indeed, Claus, but the fall caused his hat to fly off, revealing that Claus wasn't a he at all, Claus was a _girl. _Ed quickly helped Claus up. It took everything in his power not to say, "I thought you were a guy!" Because, let's face it, that's not really something a young girl wants to hear. _'Damn' _Edward thought. He was slightly disappointed that Claus was a girl. It would have been nice to have a cute boy to hang around with...

Edward bid the girl farewell and left to meet Al in the front of the school.


	3. Chapter 3

"I like this school." Alphonse said as the two brothers walked back home from school. Edward was dragging his feet, kicking up dirt. He wasn't really excited to go home.

"Yeah, it's alright. The teachers are cool, and so far no one knows about my automail, except Mr. Armstrong." Edward explained the whole situation to Al, assuring him that it was ok, and that the Gym teacher had promised not to tell anyone. "Did you have any homework?" He asked, changing the subject.

At that, Al wrinkled his nose. "Yes. Ms. Hawkeye gave us a worksheet to do, to see what level we are at or whatever. Did she make you guys do that?"

"Yeah, but I finished mine in class." The siblings approached a dinky little apartment complex and went to apartment number four. Edward unlocked the door with his key and they entered the small, one bedroom apartment. There was a living room, though it felt more like a bedroom, because that's where Ed was sleeping. He put a futon in there and it was still in bed form because Edward was too tired and grumpy to put it back as a couch before he left for school. On the other side of the apartment was the kitchen, it was slightly bigger than the living room, but not by much. There were a few dishes in the sink and a pot of leftover stew in the stove, but other than that it was clean...as clean as it could be anyway. Some drawers were broken, and there was a big, black mark that could possibly be a burn mark of some sort. There was one, teeny room that Al had claimed as his, and a bathroom that was so small Edward was surprised they could fit a shower in there.

It definitely wasn't much, but it was their home now. "It was great for Dad to lend us money for this place...but don't you think he could have given us a little more? I mean...he's never really been in our lives, it's the least he could do." Al said, setting down his book bag and making Ed's bed into a couch for him to sit on.

"Yeah, well, Hohenhiem is a cheap bastard, I guess." Edward mumbled, going into the kitchen and looking through the cupboards. Edward didn't have the heart to tell Al that Hohenhiem actually didn't send any money, and that's why they were living in such a crappy apartment. The money Ed used to get them here and enrolled in school and everything was money that he made, and whatever was left of what their mother left them when she died. Ed also couldn't tell him what he was doing to keep getting money...so instead he told Al that their father was sending them money every week. He didn't like lying to his brother, but he didn't want him to know the truth either; sometimes, ignorance was bliss. "We're out of food. I'll have to go shopping tonight. What do you want for dinner?"

"Pasta with meat sauce sounds great!" Al said. Edward smiled at his brother and nodded; anything for Al. Ed looked in his wallet and frowned-no money. Great...

It was late, and Alphonse was waiting for his brother to get back, he had been gone for two hours now...it didn't take that long to buy food, did it? Right when Alphonse was about to get up to go look for Ed, the front door opened and the blonde entered the apartment, with two plastic bags hanging from each arm. "Brother! What took you so long?" Alphonse said, taking the food away from his brother and setting the bags in the kitchen (far away from that black burn spot)

"Sorry, Al...I got lost." Edward was trying to hide his face, and Al knew something was wrong.

"What happened, Brother?"

"Nothing, Al, I'm going to bed. Make yourself dinner and do the same." Edward made his futon into a bed and laid down, his back facing away from his brother.

"...You're not going to eat?" Al asked, worried. Edward skipping out on a meal was a thing that rarely ever happened, something was definitely wrong, but he decided not to push-Edward didn't seem to be in the mood.

"I'm not hungry," Ed answered, his tone was cold. Al felt bad, but he didn't know why, he didn't do anything wrong.

"Ok..."

Edward wrapped himself up in his blanket, it was a big quilt that his mother had made for him, and put his head under his pillow, and listened to his brother make dinner, hoping to god that the purple bruise on his cheek would fade by morning, and that his little brother couldn't tell he was crying.

"Edward, come on, we're going to be late." Alphonse called to Ed, who was currently locked in the bathroom, doing god knows what-his hair, probably. As far as Al knew, Ed hasn't even eaten breakfast; he's just been in the bathroom.

"Just go on without me Al; I'm going to be a little late." Edward called back. He heard Al sigh then reluctantly leave. The blonde turned his attention back to the mirror, the sight alone made him wince. His bruise didn't get better overnight; in fact, it seemed to have gotten worse. His right cheek was purple and swollen, not something he could hide easily. He cursed silently at the man that had hit him; there was no need to be so damn rough...

Edward didn't have any make up to put on his bruise, so instead he would have to avoid Al as much as possible. He didn't care if everyone else saw him like this, but he couldn't bear it if Al saw and started to ask questions. Edward sighed, covered up his face with his bangs as much as possible, and exited the bathroom.

Principal Mustang was sitting at his desk, going through some paperwork. It was ten minutes until school officially started, and he didn't really do much until around second period, that's when the kids are awake enough to be assholes. A light tapping at his door made him look up from his paperwork. "Come in." He said, a little confused at who would be here before school even started.

The door opened and a young boy walked in that Roy didn't really know. "Good Morning, Sir, I'm Alphonse Elric."

Ah, that's why he didn't know the boy; he was one of the new students. "Take a seat, Mr. Elric. How may I help you?"

The boy sat down in a small black chair on the other side of Roy's desk. He seemed nervous, or upset, so the principal waited patiently for him to speak. "I um...I really don't know why I came here but...I'm just worried, Sir."

"About what?" Roy asked, leaning forward a bit to show his interest.

"My brother, Sir, Edward. You see...He came home late last night, and he's been coming home late for a while, but last night he was acting strange, and this morning he was locked in the bathroom and wouldn't let me see him...it's not like him. I guess what I was wondering was, if you can, try to keep an eye on him, and tell other teachers to do so as well? If you have the time, I'm sure you're too busy to be bothered with one insignificant student, but-"

"None of my students are insignificant." Roy stated, cutting him off. "I will do my best to keep an eye on him. I'll send out an email to the other teachers to send him to my office if they notice anything strange or wrong with him. Sound good?" Roy was a damn good principal, and he listened to his students and tried his best to keep them out of harm's way, and If Edward was getting into something that could be dangerous, he wanted to stop it before it got worse. Roy just hoped the boy wasn't doing drugs.

Alphonse smiled at his new principal (who was turning out to be much nicer than his last one) and stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Mustang. It really means a lot to me," and with that, he left. Roy smiled to himself, most of the kids in this school were selfish little bastards, and it was good to see someone care about another person.

Roy turned to his computer, and, just like he said he would, sent out an email to all of his staff members.

_Hello and Good Morning,_

_This morning a junior by the name of Alphonse Elric entered my office. Apparently he is worried about his older brother, Edward Elric. If you see or hear anything strange/suspicious/anything that wouldn't be considered normal, please do not hesitate to send the boy to my office. Thank you for your cooperation._

_Roy Mustang_

He clicked the send button and hoped that Alphonse was just worried for nothing, and that he wouldn't have to see Edward Elric for any reason.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi Guys! For everyone that is reading this, thanks! I was just hoping that maybe I could get some reviews? I just want to make sure that I'm doing alright, and I want to know if there is anything I need to work on (because I know that there's always room for improvement!) Anyway, on with the story!**

"Ed! You're late!" Jean Havoc stated, surprised. After all, the boy was much earlier the day before.

Ed looked down and hurried to his seat, keeping his face out of sight. "Sorry, Mr. Havoc." He managed to mumble. Jean frowned, but went on with teaching his class. After passing out and explaining a worksheet, Havoc sat down at his desk and checked his email for the first time this morning, and was surprised to see an email from principal Mustang that he sent out to all the faculty members.

After reading the email, Havoc frowned and looked up at Edward. Coming in late was odd enough, but he was also keeping his face hidden. What was going on with him? "Edward? Can you come up here, please?" He didn't like putting any students on the spot, but what if something was really wrong with him? He saw the boy sigh and he came up to him, that's when Havoc noticed why Ed was trying to hide his face-there was a big, nasty bruise on it. Havoc remained calm; he didn't want to make a scene in front of the other students. Havoc stood up, took Edward by the arm and led him outside the classroom.

"Where are you taking me?" Ed asked, worry in his voice.

"To principal Mustang, I think you would feel more comfortable talking to him in his secluded office about what happened to your face." Edward looked down, he should have known he couldn't have gotten away with it without anyone noticing, he should have just called in sick...

"I'm fine, Havoc." He muttered, but Jean didn't listen to him. As a teacher, he has seen many cases of child abuse and self-harm, he wasn't sure which one this was, but he was leaning towards abuse.

"That nasty bruise says different, Edward." Jean knocked on the door to Mustang's office twice before entering-this was too important to wait.

"Mr. Havoc? Shouldn't you be teaching right now?" Mustang asked, but was quiet when he saw the blonde behind him. "Edward Elric?" He asked his tone slightly somber. Havoc nodded once and motioned for the boy to sit in a chair. "Thank you, Mr. Havoc." The door shut and Roy turned his attention to the student in front of him. He had his hands in his lap and his head down, the universal sign of being in trouble. His bangs hung in his face. "Mr. Elric?"

"It's Edward," Ed corrected, keeping his head down. "Can you explain why I'm here? I know I was late, but shouldn't I get let off his a warning or something?"

"Well, Edward, you're not here because you were late. Your brother Alphonse saw me this morning, he was worried about you."

Edward said nothing.

"Edward?"

Silence.

"Edward, look at me." Roy's took on his 'principal' tone, which was firm, but not mean sounding. Slowly, Edward Elric lifted his head and looked directly into Roy's eyes, which was a surprise to him; most students could never make eye contact with him. Also, he was very shocked to see the swollen purple bruise on the side of his face. Staying calm, he asked, "What happened?"

Edward sighed, and broke the eye contact. "It's not what you think." He said plainly.

"Oh? And what do you think I think it is?" Truth was, Roy didn't know what to think, he didn't know if this kid got into a fight or if he was abused. It would make sense if he got in a fight, he was petite and almost feminine looking, and much, much shorter than all the other boys in his grade. Kids were cruel, and Roy didn't put it past them to make fun of the poor boy.

"You think I was abused." Ed said plainly.

"Were you?" Roy tried to keep his tone even, but concerned, he waited, wanting Edward to do all the talking, not him.

"No." He said finally. "No one is there to abuse me."

Roy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's just me and Al. Our mom died a while ago and the bastard that calls himself our father hasn't been around for years." Ed crossed his arms, and Roy sighed. Usually once the student crosses their arms, they completely shut everyone out. "No one can abuse me if no one's there to do it."

"Then how did this happen? Alphonse is very concerned, and now I am as well. Your brother said you have been coming home late. Where have you been going? And if it is just you and Al, how are you making money to survive?"

Edward suddenly stood up and started yelling, "I get by, alright? What do you or anyone else care how I do it? I put food on the fucking table and I pay the fucking rent, isn't that all anyone needs to know?! Al needs to learn how to stay out of my business, and so do you! You don't even know me, so don't go acting like you're all concerned or whatever. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of my brother, alright, so back off!" The outburst startled Roy a bit, not that he's never been yelled at by a student before, but he wasn't expecting an outburst so big to come out of a kid so damn small.

"Edward, I care about all of my students, and when one comes to school with a giant bruise on his face, I become concerned and I make it my business, because that is my job. I cannot force you to tell me what is going on in your life, Edward, but whenever you are ready to talk, I am here. I can excuse you from the rest of your classes today, if you would like." Roy's voice was calm, but kind. He didn't want to be the enemy; his goal was to be the friend. He wanted his students to be comfortable enough to talk to him about anything, that's what made him a good principal-he actually cared.

Edward calmed down; his cheeks flushed red from embarrassment of his outburst. He had such a short temper, sometimes he couldn't help it. "Okay...yeah...thanks, sir."

"Would you like me to give you a ride home, Edward?" Normally, Roy would never offer such a thing to a student, because frankly it's not appropriate, but, if no one was abusing him, then he must have been attacked or something, and so, for Ed's safety and no other reason (right?) he felt he should give the boy a ride home.

Ed was about to tell him that he really didn't live that far away, and that he could walk there, but he stopped a second to really look at his principal. Mustang was young, well, compared to Ed's old principal, Mr. Falman, and he was a very attractive man. Ed blushed and looked away. "A ride home would be nice..." he mumbled. He didn't really want his principal to see where he lived, but he didn't feel like walking all the way back there when he just walked here. It was a dumb, lazy excuse, but it worked.

Roy offered the teen a smile and grabbed his keys. "Let's go then."

Edward walked out of the school, following behind the principal. When they got out to the parking lot, Edward was surprised to see which car Roy went to. It was a black, 1967 Mustang Eleanor that had flames painted on it. Basically, the car was way too cool for a principal of a high school to own. "_That's_ your car?" Edward said, his mouth hanging open slightly.

Roy chuckled and unlocked Ed's door for him. "Yes, it was a gift. My friend thought it would be funny to get me a Mustang. He said the flames reminded him of me...don't know why though." Roy did know why, he was a freaking pyro, that's why. Roy always had a lighter in his pocket, not because he's a smoker, because he's not, he just enjoyed lighting stuff on fire...was that so wrong?

Ed sat in the leather seat after Roy opened the door for him, and, being polite, he reached over and opened the door for Roy, which he found slightly amusing. That's what women do when he takes them out on dates. Shaking that thought from his head, he entered the car and shut the door. "Your car is beautiful." Edward said, then added sheepishly, "it really suits you."

Roy smiled, "Thank you, Edward." Roy put the key in the ignition and started the car with a loud roar; it purred beautifully. The CD that Roy was listening to this morning started playing.

"No way! You listen to KISS?" Ed said in disbelief as Detroit Rock City blasted from the car speakers. "What other bands do you like?"

"Oh you know, Sex Pistols, Van Halen, David Bowie, Journey, Aerosmith, things like that." He chuckled at the look on Ed's face. "What?"

"Who would have known a _principal _could be so cool?" Ed said laughing a bit. This was so unreal. He had a cool car, liked great music and on top of all that, he was totally hot! Why did he have to be the freaking principal?!

"So where do you live, Ed?" Roy asked, pulling out of the parking lot. When Edward gave him his address, Roy raised his brow, but said nothing. Roy knew the apartments, they were pretty sketchy. That and they were easily within walking distance, so why did Edward accept a ride from him? He was pulled out of his thoughts by Edward's growling stomach. "Hungry?" Roy asked, amused.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, we don't really have much to eat, and Al is like a bottomless pit," he laughed a bit, "He needs more food than I do."

Roy frowned. "You're giving up food for yourself so your brother can eat?" Edward nodded. They were approaching the turn into the apartments, but, instead of slowing down to turn, Roy sped up and kept going straight.

"You missed it," Ed pointed out.

"Yes, I am aware of that. I'm not taking you home right now." Roy knew he shouldn't be doing this, but damn it, he couldn't let the poor boy starve, besides, who knows what he's been doing to get money just to feed his brother?

"Where are we going?" Ed asked, confused.

"The grocery store," Roy answered, "and don't think about refusing this offer, it's not optional. I can spare some money if it means you can eat for a week or so without having to worry about money or starving yourself to feed your brother."

"Thank you." Ed mumbled. He didn't like taking handouts, but he didn't really have a choice. Mr. Mustang was offering him something that will help Al as well, so he couldn't refuse.

"You're welcome."

As they shopped for food, Roy got to know his new student a little better. Edward chatted away, telling basic details of his life, what kind of music he likes and teenage things like that. Every now and then Ed would let something more personal slip out, so, little by little, Roy was getting to know who Edward Elric really was.

Right now Ed was talking about how he was from the country and how when he and Al were little they would play outside every day, running around barefoot and picking blackberries. "Those were the best times, when we could play all day and get dirty, then go home when the sun went down and have a hot bath and dinner waiting for us. Our mom encouraged us to get dirty, funny, right?" Then he changed the subject, pointing at some food and saying it was Al's favorite. Edward was really good at avoiding unwanted emotions.

Once they paid for all the food Roy drove to Ed's apartment and helped bring in the bags of food. "Sorry about the place, you're probably used to much better," Ed said, embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, Edward," Roy reassured the teen. He helped Ed put away the food.

"Thank you...for everything." Ed said.

"It was nothing-"

"No! It was everything! So just take my stinking gratitude, alright?" Edward snapped.

Roy smiled and ruffled up his hair. "Alright, you're welcome." The two smiled at each other for a moment before Roy said, "Well, Edward, I really must get back from the school. I expect you to be there _on time _tomorrow." Roy flashed the teen a grin and let himself out.

Ed took a deep breath and sat down on his futon, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. _'Principal Mustang is one good looking man...why does he have to be the freaking principal? God, just thinking about him makes me wanna-" _Ed sat up, his pants suddenly felt tighter than usual. _'Well...Al isn't home…' _Edward unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down around his knees, then did the same with his boxers. He was surprised at how aroused he was at the moment, considering he wasn't even thinking sexual thoughts. The image of his new principal, even fully clothed, was enough to make Ed 'spring into action.'

When Roy got back into his car he sat in the driver's seat for a minute, thinking about his day so far, and how he never expected it to end up this way. Then, before he started the car, he noticed that there was a notebook of some kind on the floor in the seat Ed was sitting in. He picked it up and read the front. "History Notes" Roy smiled and opened the notebook, and about ten blank hall passes fell out. Roy picked one up; it was signed by Mr. Havoc. _'Another student caught you smoking, eh Jean?' _Roy thought, rolling his eyes. He never understood how a man so fit and healthy looking could put so much poison into his lungs.

Roy got out of the car and walked back to Ed's apartment to give him back his notebook. He was about to knock on the door when he heard something. The principal paused and looked at the window, it was slightly open, and the sound was coming from in there. Curious, Roy peaked in the window, and his eyes widened at what he saw, Edward was touching himself! He was really enjoying it too...Roy knew he was being a pervert and was invading privacy, and he was about to leave as quickly as possible, but then he heard the blonde boy moan a name, _his _name! Was this for real? Was this kid seriously thinking about him while he _masturbated?_

The older man felt something stir in his lower regions and forced himself to leave, it wasn't right for him to _watch_ his student do such a thing, but to get _turned on _by watching his student do it was just plain sick. Roy rushed back to his car and hurried to the school. He decided he would give Ed his notebook back at a different time.


	5. Chapter 5

While Edward waited for his brother to get home, he decided to clean the house up; he even attempted cleaning up that horrid black spot on the kitchen floor-with no success. All he did was get frustrated and wished that all he had to do was clap his hands to make it go back the way it was before it was burned or whatever. Unfortunately, he didn't have the power to just fix stuff like that…

He had just finished cleaning and sat down on his futon when the front door burst open and slammed shut. "I cannot believe you didn't even come to school! You said you were going to be _late _not absent!" Al yelled, throwing his book bag down on the ground.

"Al, I-"

"No! It's only our second day and already you're skipping! I _like _this school, Edward, if you get expelled again I'll-" Al stopped his rant abruptly, seeing his brother's face for the first time. "What the hell happened?!"

"Al, calm down-"

"CALM DOWN!? What the hell happened to your face?!"

"Al-"

"Did you get in a fight already?! Damn it, Ed, I thought it was going to be different here-"

"ALPHONSE!" The younger brother shut up, stunned by the elder yelling his name like he did. Edward sighed. "I didn't get into a fight, and I _did _go to school, just sit down and let me explain." Alphonse looked at his brother skeptically, but sat by him anyway. "First of all, I want to thank you...for going to Principal Mustang this morning."

"...Ok...So you really did go to school...So why did you leave?"

Edward sighed; this was where he had to start lying to his brother. He already had his lie all figured out, but he hated lying to his brother. "I...wasn't feeling good this morning, but I went to school anyway. Mr. Havoc thought something was wrong with me, so he sent me to see Mr. Mustang, and I told him I was sick, so he offered to take me home."

"Oh...then...what happened to your face?"

Edward had thought of a lie for this too, though it wasn't really the best one. He laughed a bit, to play it off as not being a big deal, "Oh, that? I wasn't paying attention, and when I opened the door to get in his car, it hit me in the face." He laughed some more.

Alphonse looked at his brother for a moment, then joined in on his laughter. "You should really be more careful, Brother," he said.

Ed was relieved that Alphonse took his lie, whether he believed it or not. "Oh, and some good news, Hohenhiem sent us some more money, so I bought us some more food. It should last us a week or two, if you don't eat it all."

Al seemed to perk up at that. "Really? That's great! Did he send a card this time?" Edward sighed and shook his head. "Oh...he said he would, last time you talked to him on the phone, right?"

Ed felt a pain in his heart; he never talked to Hohenhiem on the phone, not once. "Yeah, he did, but maybe he forgot." Another lie. Sometimes it seemed like his life was just one lie after the other.

"Yeah, maybe… So what should we have for dinner, brother?" And that was the end of the conversation. Al didn't bring it up again. The brother's made dinner together, they laughed and goofed off, and they went to bed content with full bellies.

The next morning Edward made sure to be up and ready for school before Al, just to prove that he was going and everything was fine. He even had time to make breakfast and pack a lunch for them both.

Alphonse was glad that his brother was better, and that he stayed home all night the night before, and now they were going to go to school together and everything will be normal. As the brothers walked to school, they chatted happily about anything and everything. Al even expressed his new crush on that Martel girl, saying how pretty and unique she was and how he hoped she liked him too. Ed assured him that she did.

Once they arrived to their destination-fifteen minutes early- the brothers separated, both calling out "see you at lunch" to the other. Before going to his first class, there was one thing Edward had to do…

Roy looked to his door when he heard someone knock. "Come in," he said, hoping that it wasn't Alphonse again. It wasn't, it was the other Elric. "Edward, good to see you here early, your bruise seems to be healing nicely," Roy said, brushing the hair out of Ed's face to get a better look at the bruise. "It's not swollen anymore, so that's good."

Edward blushed, and looked down to hide it. "Yeah, it's alright. Listen...I wanted to talk to you...about yesterday."

Roy's heart skipped a beat. _'He doesn't know what I saw, does he?' _he thought. "What about yesterday?" he asked calmly.

"Well, I really wanted to thank you. I don't think we've eaten this well since our mom passed...but, I couldn't tell Al about what really happened to my face so I told him a few white lies." Roy waited for the teen to go on. "I told him I was sick yesterday, so you took me home, and I have a bruise because I accidentally smacked my face with your car door."

Roy frowned. "Edward. I can understand if you don't want to tell me what happened, but if it's so bad that you have to make up lies to your own brother, it can't be right."

Edward sighed. "Look, there's not many ways a kid my age in school can make money, and I have my own ways, I can handle it."

"You're face says different, Edward."

Ed touched his cheek and sighed. "This is the first time anything like this has happened. It won't happen again."

Roy was worried for his student, maybe more worried than he should have been. He could tell Edward was uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "Oh! You um, dropped your notebook in my car yesterday," Roy grabbed said notebook off of his desk and handed it to Ed. "You might need it, since you have History first period."

Edward looked in Roy's eyes, smiled, and said, "Thank you."

Roy knew he didn't mean for the notebook.

"Anytime, Edward. Now get to class." Ed smiled again, then left. Roy sighed and sat down at his desk. Why did that boy have to be so damn _adorable?_


	6. Chapter 6

Edward's day wasn't too bad; he just wished that people would stop asking him if he was ok. The first was Mr. Havoc, though Edward can understand why he would be concerned, he was one of the few that saw how bad his face was the previous day. Then random students started asking him. Funny, how they will ignore the strangeness of him wearing a coat and pants when it was almost 100 degrees, but when he had a bruise on his face they couldn't stop asking questions. _'People only care if they can see,' _Ed thought. As far as they knew, he could be covering up more bruises or cuts or anything, he wasn't, but still, it's the thought that counts.

Ed had just finished helping Mr. Armstrong put away the gym equipment and was heading to science class. "Hey! Elric!" Edward turned around to see who was yelling at him, it was Paninya. She was jogging to catch up to him, and once she reached him, she punched him in the arm-luckily, his left one- and said, "You didn't come to my party, Jerk!" She said jokingly, then she saw his face. "Oh, god, are you ok?"

Edward sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your party."

Paninya smiled and linked arms with Ed, pulling him towards their classroom. "That's alright! Maybe we can have lunch together sometime, or hang out after school." She was practically dragging Edward; he tried to get away before she-

"Whoa." She stopped pulling on Ed's arm-his right arm- and looked at him. She had to have felt his automail. Ed's heart was beating fast, was she going to make a scene? Paninya smiled and winked, "You must work out." before Ed could say anything, she grabbed his left hand and pulled him into the classroom. She didn't let go of his hand until they had to separate to sit in their desks.

Ed didn't like her grabbing him and pulling him around like that, he wasn't sure if he even liked this girl. He got out a piece of paper and started to write down the questions Mr. Fuery had written on the board. Most of the student copied the question down and waited for Mr. Fuery to answer them, but, Edward had spent hours studying college science textbooks with Mrs. Curtis, so he already knew all the answers. Ed jotted down the answers quickly then sat and waited. Mr. Fuery gave everyone ten minutes to work on the questions.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. "Hey! Kid! You're Edward, right?" Ed turned around to the kid that was sitting behind him. He had long black hair that was up in a ponytail and he was wearing a white tang top and black pants.

"Yeah, I'm Ed." Edward replied.

"Name's Kimblee, Solf Kimblee, do you know the answers to this crap? Because I have no clue, and I have to pass this class this year or I'll have to come back again next year. How 'bout you help a brother out?" Ed looked at the guy; he did look a little older than the rest of the seniors. Feeling sorry for this guy, Ed decided to give him the answers.

"Hey, thanks. It would be a bitch if I had to see Fuery's stupid fucking face next year."

Ed frowned slightly; he didn't think Mr. Fuery was that bad... The kid sitting next to Kimblee looked up from his paper and hit Kimblee's shoulder. "Hey, Solf, who's your friend?"

"This is Edward, he's new, I think. Ed, this is my less than straight friend, Ling."

Ling extended his hand to shake Ed's. "Nice to meet you Ed. And seriously, Kimblee? Less than straight friend? Do you have to tell everyone we meet that I'm gay?"

Ed blushed a bit. This kid was gay, and open about it? And it was ok? Back in his old school, if you were gay and people found out, they would try to beat the shit out of you. That was why Ed was expelled. Ed told his ex-best friend Russel that he was gay, and Russel, being a homophobic asshole, apparently, went and told the entire school. Ed endured weeks of physical and verbal harassment before he finally kicked Russel's ass. School officials decided that Ed used his automail as a weapon, so they expelled him. Fucking bullshit, right?

"It's nice to meet you too, Ling." Ed said, then he turned back around to pay attention to Mr. Fuery who was going over the answers to the questions on the board. He was taking a few notes when a folded up piece of paper plopped right in front of him.

Ed unfolded the note and read it; the handwriting was messy and kind of bulky.

_Ed,_

_Do you want to hang out some time? Kimblee always finds a good party, if you're down._

_Ling_

Edward sighed. This was the second person who had invited him to a party since he's been here. He really wasn't the kind of kid to party. He quickly jotted down a reply and tossed the note back to Ling. He said,

_Sorry, Ling, but I don't really party much, I have other responsibilities._

Ling read the note and shrugged. He didn't bother answering him back; he wasn't going to push it. It was true that Ling thought Ed was cute, but he also highly doubted that he was gay, with the way Paninya was holding his hand and all. Oh well.

School was over and Ed was walking with Al and his friend Martel back to their house. When the brothers met up after school, Al asked if it was ok for Martel to come and hang out for a while, and of course Ed couldn't refuse.

"So did you make any new friends yet, Ed?" Al asked. Apparently Al was already the most popular junior in the school "It shouldn't be too hard for you, I hear girls say how cute you are all the time, especially that Claus girl. I can't believe a freshman has a crush on you!"

Edward sighed, he never told his brother that he was gay, and that's why Al didn't really understand why Ed got in so many fights up until his expulsion. "Well, there's this girl Paninya who kind of forced her friendship on me."

"Paninya is just like that, she doesn't understand personal space or anything like that. She's nice though, once you get to know her." Martel said.

"Yeah. Well, I met two other guys today, Kimblee and Ling. They seemed alright."

Martel stopped in her tracks at that, causing the two boys to stop and look at her. "What's up?" Al asked.

"Did you say Kimblee?" Martel asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I wouldn't get involved with that guy if I were you, Ed. Ling is an alright guy, I guess, but Kimblee...he's trouble." Martel started to walk again, and the boys followed suit.

"Alright, thanks for the warning," Ed said, slightly confused. Sure, Kimblee gave off a creeper vibe, but he didn't seem to be so bad. Guess you can't judge someone so quickly.

The three reached the dinky apartment, and the two boys were listening to Martel talk, "Kimblee has always started trouble. Last year, he made a bomb and put it in the boy's bathroom; it didn't hurt anyone or do any damage, so he didn't get expelled. He flunked out though, so he had to come back, so I think that's punishment enough. He always has fire crackers or something to blow things up with; he was probably that kid that blew up his sister's Barbie dolls," She explained. "He also picks on lower classmen a lot, the jerk. His girlfriend isn't any better either."

"Girlfriend?" Ed asked. She must not have had the same science class as them.

"Yeah, her name's Nova, a real bitch too. She and he make a perfect team of evil. Rumor is she does cage fights for money, and Kimblee will bet money on her, so they get twice the amount of money-apparently she never loses."

She fought for money, how convenient for her. Edward tried to do the same thing, but they wouldn't let him. They said his automail gave him an unfair advantage.

There was a loud knock on the door. "I'll get it." Edward said, standing up from his futon, Alphonse, who was currently sitting on the floor, immediately took his place next to Martel. Ed rolled his eyes and opened the door. It was the landlord.

"Hey, Mr. Yoki, what do you need?" Ed said, stepping outside and closing the door behind him, he didn't want Al to hear this conversation.

"You know what I need, Mr. Elric. I agreed to postpone your rent, but the fact of the matter is, it needs to be paid. I'll give you until tomorrow, if you don't pay me by then, you and your brother will have to find some other place to live."

Edward sighed. "Of course, Mr. Yoki, I'm sorry. I will have it to you by tomorrow. I promise."

"Good." the man said, then he left. Edward went back into the house.

"What did Mr. Yoki need?" Al asked.

"He was just checking in on us, making sure everything was fine."

"Oh, that's nice." Al quickly bought the lie and went back to talking to Martel. He was leaning forward and actively engaged in everything she said, it was funny. Ed has never seen Al be so love-struck before.

Martel hung out with them and stayed until dinner, then left-much to Al's displeasure. Edward was still troubled by his money situation, he couldn't get kicked out; not when they just got here.

The older brother put on his black coat, opposed to the red one he usually wore. "You're going out tonight?" Al asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a few hours, but don't wait up for me, ok?" Al nodded. He knew that he couldn't get his brother to stay. He didn't know where Ed was always going, and he didn't like it, but he couldn't stop Ed, he didn't have that sort of power. Edward sighed and left the apartment.

It was still pretty warm out even though the sun has been down for a few hours, but Ed was used to it all by now. He walked fast, and paid no attention to anything but the street signs, and in twenty minutes he was at his destination. It was a big grey building that would have been completely unnoticeable if it weren't for the glowing neon "Open" sign over the door. Ed took a deep, shaky breath before entering the building; he hated this.

"Edward! Darling! I was afraid you weren't going to come back after that big, mean man hit you."

"Hello, Madame Lust," Ed greeted the woman. Madame Lust had long, black hair and was extremely sexy-if you were into women like that. She always wore a tight black dress that her boobs practically spilled out of.

"Eddy-boy, it's a good thing you came back, we have so many customers asking specifically for _you. _I don't know why, but you're the new favorite, kid." Ed knew that she meant that as a compliment, but he couldn't really take it that way, he was disgusted with himself when he came here.

The phone rang, and a big man at the desk-Ed secretly called him Gluttony because of how much the man ate- answered the phone, "Madame Lust's Whore House, we got girls and boys to be your toys." He always answered the phone this way. "Yes, the blonde boy with the metal parts is here, Sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait your turn."

Edward shuttered. People were calling here for him. "Your first customer is already waiting upstairs in your usual room. He demanded to have you first tonight; I swear that man is greedy. Good luck." she patted him on the back and Edward made his way up the old, creaky stairs. Ed knew exactly who Lust was talking about. This man had come to see Ed every night since Ed has been here. He refused to tell Ed his name, but, considering his actions and how he talks, Ed secretly called him Greed.

Edward entered the room and shut the door behind him. The room was dimly lit, and there was nothing more than a bed in the middle of the room, which the man was laying on, already naked. "It's about time." the man said. "I missed you yesterday."

Edward took off his clothes slowly, knowing what was to come. "Let's just get this over with."


	7. Chapter 7

Tired, sore, and limping, Edward walked back home with three hundred bucks in his pocket. The money was dirty, _he _was dirty. He hated facing his brother after he did this. A car slowed down and stopped next to him. "Hey there, beautiful, got a minute?" Ed turned to look at the car, and almost gasped. It was that Greed guy. He stopped walking and stared at the man in the car.

"...What do you want?" Ed asked timidly. He had already had a turn with Ed tonight, one, long, hour and a half turn, and yet this man was looking at Edward with those same, lust-filled eyes.

"Well, to be honest, kid, I think I would like to go another round."

"Sorry, I'm off the clock." Ed turned around to leave.

"Wait! I know that that bitch Lust takes a percentage of whatever you make, I will pay you double and you get to keep all of it. We can just drive my car into that alleyway there, you can let me fuck you crazy, and then we can part ways, no more, no less. If you refuse me, however, I can always just follow you home." The man grinned wickedly.

Ed looked down at his feet, resisting the urge to vomit. "...How much would you pay me?" Ed had to choke the words out.

"For that ass? How about two hundred? Plus tip, for working off hours?" Edward gasped, that was way more than double the usual, but then again, Ed didn't know how much Madame Lust took out of what he made...

Edward sighed, and opened the passenger door, getting in. Greed smirked, "That's my boy."

Roy Mustang was taking a late night walk, trying to clear his mind. Being a principal of a high school did have its disadvantages, like constantly being caught up in stupid high school bullshit. It was a headache when he was in high school, and it was bad now. He was suddenly very grateful of his high school teachers and how patient they were with him. Dealing with a pyromaniac with anger issues wasn't the easiest thing in the world, after all...

As he turned a corner, a blonde head caught his eye. After squinting his eyes in the darkness for a bit, Roy confirmed that the blonde a few yards away from him was, indeed, Edward Elric. _'I wonder what he's doing out here this late at night...' _Roy wondered. He was about to go and confront the boy when a car pulled up next to Ed, and the guy in the car started talking to him. The driver didn't exactly look like a good guy. Edward looked really uncomfortable talking to this man, but he ended up getting into the car, his whole body was shaking. What the fuck? The car drove into a dark alleyway-one Roy knew was a dead end-and he heard the engine shut off. What was going on?

Concerned, Roy sat on the wooden bench that was next to him and waited. He didn't want Edward to think that Roy was following him, and Roy really was curious as to why Edward was out so late, so Roy waited… and waited. He sat there for about an hour before he saw the car pull out of the alleyway and leave, and a minute after that he saw Edward emerge from the alley. His hair and clothes were messed up, and he was walking with a limp. Roy saw the boy count money, and then put it in his pocket.

Roy gasped. No, it couldn't be! This had to be something other than what it obviously was. Roy felt sad, this kid, this cool, smart, fucking _beautiful _kid was selling his body to support his brother and himself. He was so young...this was the time where he was supposed to be discovering love and sex, not sex as an object to give away. He was learning it all wrong. How was he supposed to ever trust and build a relationship with someone if this was how his sexual experiences have been? It was too crude...that poor boy.

Edward was walking away, probably heading home, and Roy could see his shoulders shaking. Ed was crying. Roy felt so much pity for the teen. No kid should ever have to go through this. Roy suddenly wanted nothing more than to show Ed that sex can be more than an object, and that it was something you could share with someone as an act of love and passion. For a second, Roy wanted to do this so badly that he completely forgot Edward was his student...

Edward was tired, and glad that he was almost home and could get a few hours of sleep before having to go to school. It was really late, so he expected Alphonse to be asleep by now, but as he approached his shitty apartment, he noticed the window glowing with light. Edward sighed in annoyance. _'Didn't I tell him not to wait up for me?' _he thought. He was not in the mood to deal with his brother right now.

Ed entered the apartment, ready to tell Al off, "Al, it's a school night, why are you still-?" Ed stopped at what he saw in his living room, sitting next to Alphonse on his futon, "...Awake..." Ed finished, stunned. He couldn't believe it.

"Hello, Edward," Van Hohenhiem said, standing up to greet his son. "Wow, you've grown up so much."

"Yeah, it happens," Ed spat, "what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Brother!" Al snapped, standing up from the futon. Then he turned to Hohenhiem, "Sorry, Ed's not so good at being polite."

"He doesn't deserve my polite side!" Ed growled. "Now tell me what you are doing here!" This was the last thing that he needed right now.

"Maybe you can explain to me what happened to my house," Hohenhiem shot back.

Ed wasn't expecting that question. He touched his right arm instinctively, "There was an accident..." he mumbled, looking down. He didn't want to do this right now, he was already drained of most of his energy; he just wanted to sleep...

Alphonse saw the distress in his brother's eyes, and piped up, "There was some sort of electrical fire. The police concluded that mice or something chewed up wires or whatever." As Al spoke, flashbacks of the accident ran though Ed's mind.

_"Alphonse!" Ed coughed through the smoke, "Al! Where are you?" He burst into the room they shared, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve."_

"Edward saved me," Al continued, "I was unconscious from the smoke, and Brother dragged me out of the house."

_"Al! Stay here, I have to get something!" Ed said to his barely coherent brother before running back into the house._

"He went back into the house to get that picture of Mom," Alphonse pointed to the slightly charred picture frame hanging on the wall. "While he was in there some of the house collapsed on him, pinning his arm and leg down. If the firemen didn't get him when they did, he would have died; he got lucky."

"They had to amputate my arm and leg, Al, I wouldn't call that lucky," Ed said bitterly.

Hohenhiem looked at his eldest son, "Mrs. Rockbell fix you up with some automail?" Edward nodded. "Must have been painful."

"It was, not that you were there to help me through it." He hated this man; he wanted him out of his house so he could get some damn sleep. "You've never been there," Ed clenched his fists, "you've never helped out in any way!"

"That's not true, Brother, what about all the money he's sent us?" Hohenhiem's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"I never sent-"

"Right, the money!" Ed said loudly over him, "I almost forgot." He shot Hohenhiem a look, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut if he knew what was good for him. Thankfully, he got the message.

"Right...I've sent you money." Hohenhiem didn't understand why Edward would lie about something like that, but he also didn't know how his son was _really _getting money.

"Now, will you tell me why you're here?" Ed asked through clenched teeth. "He should have exposed Hohenhiem for the useless, no-good shmuck he is, but he didn't want Al asking questions.

"Well, I heard you guys were living on your own, and I know how hard it can be, so I am here to offer my home to you. I know I haven't been there and I regret it. I want to get to know my boys. I would love it if you would come to live with me. I live in this city, so you wouldn't have to change schools or anything."

Edward couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was he for real right now? Did he really think they would even _consider _living with him? Ed was about to tell him this, but stopped himself When he saw Al's eyes light up with excitement and hope. He couldn't really want to live with this bastard, could he?

"I'll give you some time to think it over." Hohenhiem said, sensing Ed's tension. He handed Al a card. "Here's my number, give me a call if you decide to take my offer. You boy's get some sleep, Goodnight," and with that, he left.

Al turned excitedly to Ed, "Brother! Can we-?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Ed said firmly, walking over to his futon and making it into a bed.

"Okay. Goodnight, Brother."

"Goodnight."


	8. Chapter 8

**-Hey there! Thanks again for reading! Unfortunately, this is where I'm kind of stuck, so any feedback/suggestions will really be helpful! **** Thanks!-**

"God damn it!" Edward groaned slamming is hand down on his little red alarm clock, easily smashing it with his automail. "Fuck!" He could already tell that today was not going to be a good day. He hardly got any sleep, and his whole body was sore, especially his shoulders and ass-his shoulders because that Greed guy left deep purple bite marks, and his ass for obvious reasons.

Ed forced himself up and got dressed. Fortunately his red coat covered up the bite marks easily, at least one thing was going right this morning...

Edward was eating a bowl of cereal when Al bounced in with a big grin on his face. "How did you sleep, Brother?" He asked, grabbing an apple off the counter and washing it in the sink. He didn't even wait for an answer before going on, "I couldn't sleep a WINK! I'm too excited! I can't believe it! After all these years, we finally have the chance to get to know our father!"

Edward slammed his fists on the table. "Are you serious?" he asked, his teeth clenched. "You seriously want to live with that bastard?!" he stood up and faced Alphonse, who didn't know how to answer his older brother.

"He's never done anything for us! He never read us bedtime stories or took us fishing or anything! He wasn't even there when Mom died! How can you even consider giving him the time of day?!" Ed was so angry, he was shaking.

"He's out father, Ed! Everyone deserves a second chance!"

"That Asshole is NOT my father! He doesn't deserve shit! I'm not living with him!"

"Well _I _am!"

Ed stopped, stunned. Al stood his ground, even though his brother's eyes were filled with disbelief and pain. "Wh...What?"

Al sighed. "I'm going to live with him. It's the best thing. He's our father, Edward. I could have a better life with him; we barely get by, Ed."

Edward felt his heart break. "Al...I..." His eyes stung from the tears that were forcing themselves out. "I...I've tried so hard to...to make life good for you-"

"Yeah? Well you fucked that up when you got yourself expelled and we had to move out of Winry's to come to this shithole!" Al said angrily. "I'm sick of you being so selfish!" Al's words cut through Edward like a knife. Selfish? So selfish that he put himself through emotional and physical pain almost every night so that they could have a place to live and food to eat?

"Al, I'm...Sorry. I tried. It's hard...I" He couldn't finish any sentence. There was a lump in his throat and his tears were falling freely now. He couldn't believe that Al would rather live with their father, who has done nothing for them, than his older brother, who had been there and sacrificed everything for him.

"I'm going to be late, Ed," Al said. He felt bad that he made Edward cry, but he couldn't seriously expect him not to go. "I'm going to call dad at lunch...I'm sorry." Al slung his blue backpack over his shoulder and walked out the door.

As soon as the door was shut, Ed collapsed to his kneed. He couldn't breathe; did this really happen? Did he just lose his brother, the only reason he even tried anymore? No...no, this couldn't be possible. It was all a bad dream, right? He was just going to wake up in his bed and his home wouldn't be burned down and his mother would still be alive; he wouldn't have ever sold his body to dirty men, and his brother would be asleep in the bed across from his. Yeah...that's right, this is all just a nightmare...so why couldn't he wake up?

Roy entered his office a little later than usual, feeling groggy and wanting nothing more than to go back home and go to sleep. He didn't get more than an hour or so of sleep; his discovery about Edward really bothered him, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. The thought of that man in the car putting his hand on Ed made Roy angry, more angry than he should have been. It made him sick to think that anyone could treat someone as beautiful as Edward like an object...

Roy mentally slapped himself; he had to stop thinking that way-Ed was a student, he couldn't think he was beautiful or anything. Why was he feeling so strongly about this boy?

He walked over to his medium sized, mahogany desk and slumped into the leather chair behind it. He turned on his computer and rubbed his face with his hands. Roy was exhausted, the last time he didn't get a full nine hours of sleep, he was a freshman in college.

The quiet melody from his computer signaled that it was on and ready to go. Roy sighed and checked the time; school started ten minutes ago. He groaned, he was seriously off today; he hadn't been late a day in his life-not ever. Roy knew that he had to talk to Edward immediately, or else he wasn't going to feel right.

Without a second thought, he opened up his Email and typed a quick message, and sent it to Jean Havoc.

_Mr. Havoc,_

_Please send Edward Elric to my office immediately. I apologize if he is missing anything important._

_Thank you,_

_Principal Mustang_

Roy waited impatiently, tapping his fingers on the desk. After a minute, his computer made a ding noise, and an automated voice announced that he had received a new message. He clicked the message quickly and read what it said.

_Sorry, Boss_

_Ed isn't here today, but he could just be late. I'll send him in if he shows up._

_-Havoc_

Roy stood up from his desk and paced. _'Okay, calm down_.' he thought, _'Ed has a long night...he probably just slept in_' without realizing it, Roy reached into his pocket and took out his black Bic lighter and flicked it repeatedly, not lighting it, just sparking it. He did this for fifty minutes before his computer dinged again, and he practically ran to his computer to read the message.

_Hey, Boss,_

_Ed never showed up, but I have his brother in my second period class, and he is here. I heard him telling a girl about a fight or something that he had with Ed this morning. I'll tell you if I hear anything else._

_-Havoc_

The Elric brothers had a fight? Why was Al here if Ed wasn't? No...Something wasn't right. Without really thinking it through, Roy grabbed his keys and left his office, then headed out to his car. His mind was buzzing. What was he doing? He started his car and drove. '_This isn't appropriate, Roy' _His conscious nagged. "_He's a student; he's probably just sick, or skipping. Teenagers do that, you should know that better than anyone' "_No," he said firmly to himself. "Something is wrong." He knew it. He didn't know how he knew, he just did.

Within a minute he reached the apartment complex and parked close to Ed's apartment. Roy got out of his car as quickly as possible, though he made sure to lock his door-this was a sketchy complex, after all- and he ran to Edward's door and banged on it. "Edward!" He said loudly through the door.

No answer.

He tried again, banging louder. "Edward!" Roy knew that Ed was in there, he could hear sobbing on the other side of the door. "I'm coming in!" Roy turned the knob and pushed the door open, thanking god that it was unlocked. He entered the apartment and saw Edward, curled up in the fetal position on the floor, sobbing and breathing heavily, gasping for air. "Ed!" Roy ran to the boy and scooped him in his arms. "Edward! Listen to me; you're having a panic attack, calm down, just breath."

"P-Princi-pal Mus-tang?" Ed questioned, lifting his head to look at the man holding him.

"Shh, don't, just breathe." Roy put his hand on the back of Ed's head and pushed it down into his chest. "Breath how I am breathing." Ed listened to Mustang, and within a few minutes, he was breathing normally, aside from the occasional hitch when he sobbed. "Your heart's beating really fast," Ed pointed out.

Roy chuckled. "I was scared." He really was, seeing Ed on the floor like that scared him a lot, he didn't know what he would do if Ed didn't calm down.

Ed looked up at his principal, pulling away from his embrace slightly. "I don't know how you knew to be here…but I don't care. Thank you."

Roy smiled, "You're welcome...are you okay?" He was still concerned.

"For now," Ed assured him.

Roy looked into Ed's amber eyes and emotion overwhelmed him. He couldn't help it, this kid was beautiful, amazing, witty, and so...

Next thing he knew, Roy was pressing his lips against Ed's in a soft kiss...


	9. Chapter 9

-Hey Lovies ^_^ Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews! I'm glad that you are liking the story so far! More reviews are always nice, it gives me incentive to keep writing!-

RECAP OF LAST CHAPTER~

_Ed looked up at his principal, pulling away from his embrace slightly. "I don't know how you knew to be here…but I don't care. Thank you."_

_Roy smiled, "You're welcome...are you okay?" He was still concerned._

_"For now," Ed assured him._

_Roy looked into Ed's amber eyes and emotion overwhelmed him. He couldn't help it, this kid was beautiful, amazing, witty, and so..._

_Next thing he knew, Roy was pressing his lips against Ed's in a soft kiss.._.

Edward's eyes widened and his heart started beating rapidly. It only took a moment for Roy to realize what he was doing, and he pulled away, looking just as shocked at the boy in his arms. "What the hell was that?!" Edward exclaimed, jumping away from his principal, eyes still wide and confusion and fear written on his face.

Roy was taken aback by Ed's outburst, but couldn't really blame him, "Ed-"

"What, did you find out what I've been doing for money? Huh? Is that why you came here?" Edward has been through a lot of trauma in the past few weeks, and he had never been kissed for any other reason than what he's been doing, so he was scared that Roy's intentions were the same as all the others. Tears started falling down Edward's cheeks, but he didn't care, "I'm not just some slut you know!"

Edward's words stung slightly, but Roy knew that the boy had been through some shit, and it was only natural for him to react this way. "Edward, no," Roy said, getting up from the ground. He had sympathy in his eyes, "No, Ed, I would never ask that of you...no one should." Roy stepped closer to Edward slowly, so that he didn't scare him again. "I do know what you've been doing...last night, I saw you get into someone's car, but Ed, I'm not like that guy, or any guy that's treated you like that. You're right, Edward, you're not just some slut, and it truly infuriates me that anyone could ever think so lowly of you."

Edward looked into the older man's eyes, and could see that he was being sincere. He hadn't stopped crying though, and his sobs had actually increased after hearing what Roy had to say. He had seen him, he really knew what he had done; Roy knew that he was dirty, impure, and used. "I-I don't know why I let them do it to me..." he choked out, "W-We needed m-money, I could live on the streets b-but Alphonse-" Edward let out a heartbreaking cry at that, remembering that his efforts had been for nothing, and that Al, the only thing he even lived for anymore, was leaving him to live with a man who, just a day ago, didn't seem to give a shit about them in the slightest.

Roy couldn't hold himself back anymore; he closed the small gap between them and wrapped the smaller male in his arms, with one arm securely around his waist and the other around his upper back, with one hand petting the back of his head soothingly. "Edward, please, calm down," he pleaded; he hated seeing Edward this way. "What happened? Did you and Alphonse have a fight?"

Edward sobbed pitifully in Roy's chest, clinging on to his only source of comfort. "My father came back last night, the fucking bastard!" Ed's words were muffled a bit, since his face was buried in Roy's chest, but his anger caused his voice to be louder, so Roy could still understand him. "He said we could go live with him, and Alphonse decided that it would be better for him to live with that asshole," Edward sobbed a bit more before going on, "He said I was being selfish...I know I fucked up, but it's been so hard since Mom died, and I tried so hard...I'm disgusting and I have nothing to show for it."

Roy's heart broke at Ed's words. "Edward, I'm sure Alphonse would have never said such harsh words if he knew what you've been doing...and maybe it is for the best to live with your father, at least until you graduate and can get an actual job."

"NO," Edward pulled away from Roy's embrace, glaring, "I'm not living with that bastard! I'd rather die on the streets!" Edward said firmly. He was completely serious about it, too, and if Al wasn't going to be with him anymore...he might as well die. What did he have if he didn't have his brother?

"I'm not going to let that happen."

Edward looked back to Roy, who was frowning slightly. Roy Mustang was a damn good principal, and he cared about his students, and he cared about Edward especially. He couldn't let this kid be alone in this dingy apartment; Edward looked like he had completely given up on everything, and those were the kids that usually ended up killing themselves or dying in the street, and Roy wasn't going to let that happen. He would feel responsible if anything happened to Edward when he could have done something about it, and he damn well wasn't going to let Edward degrade himself for money ever again.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Ed. You can't stay here alone. It isn't healthy. I'm not going to let you just give up, you're better than that," Roy said, putting a hand on Ed's shoulder. "You're coming to live with me. No ifs, ands, or buts, I'm serious."

All was silent but for the rumble of the Mustang's engine and Ed's thoughts. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, or if any of this was real. He was trying to sum up everything in his head, to get a grip on reality. Alphonse had left, not just their shitty apartment, but also a hole in Ed's heart. He had broken down; Roy came and calmed him down, then kissed him. Principal Mustang had kissed him. Then he insisted on Ed living with him, and they packed his things (which all fit into two big duffle bags) and now they were heading to Roy's house.

Roy had said that he lived alone, if you didn't count his dog. Roy had a black and white Shiba Inu named Hayate. He said that before, the dog belonged to Ms. Hawkeye, so he was well trained, but she couldn't keep him anymore, so Roy volunteered to take him.

They soon reached the house, which wasn't very big, but not too small either. From the outside it looked pretty nice, but nothing special. Edward got out of the car, and was about to get his stuff, but Roy got to it before he did. "I'm not helpless, you know," Ed grumbled, following the dark haired male up the cobblestone walkway to his house.

Roy chuckled a bit, "No, but I'm helpful, so deal with it." Roy unlocked the door to his home and walked in, setting the bags on the floor in the living room. Edward entered behind him and looked around. to his immediate right was the living room, which consisted of a couch, a few chairs, a coffee table, and a television. To his left was the dining room, which had a small, rectangular table that could only sit four people at the most. Behind the dining room was the kitchen. It was decent sized, with a big fridge, stovetop oven, dishwasher, and plenty of counter space, considering the only things on the counter were a microwave, a toaster, and a wooden block filled with an assortment of knives. There was a hallway with three doors, one on the left side, one on the right side, and one at the very end of the hallway. Roy had hardwood floors. The house was nice, and clean, very simple. It wasn't really decorated much, but that's what happens when a man lives on his own. There were a few pictures on the wall, but that was about it.

"Nice place..." Edward said.

"Thanks you," Roy replied, smiling. "Make yourself at home."

At the sound of people coming into the house, Hayate came from the very back room-which Edward assumed was Roy's room- to greet his owner and the newcomer. The dog sat down in front of Edward, his head cocked to the side, and his tongue sticking out. He had one ear up, and one slightly bent, and his tail was wagging. To put it simply, the dog was stinking cute. "Hey there, little guy! What's up?" Ed said cheerfully, bending down to pet the dog. Hayate accepted the affection with gratitude, and licked Ed's face.

"He likes you," Roy said, smiling down at the two. "Hayate, this is Edward, he will be staying with us for a while." Just how long, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to worry about that at the moment. Right now, all that seemed important was the smile on Ed's face, and that was enough for Roy right now. Right now, Roy didn't want to worry about the consequences of having a student living with him, he didn't want to think about the strange feelings he had for this boy, he just wanted to relax, and enjoy the moment of peace that he had for now.


	10. Chapter 10

**-Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I really appreciate all of them! I'm glad you are liking the story, and I will try to keep posting as much as possible!-**

"Now, Edward, I want you to make yourself at home. I have to go back to the school, considering I just sort of left," Roy said, smiling at Edward. He led him back to the room on the right side of the hallway, and opened the door. "This is my guest bedroom. Sorry about the princess sheets, it's the room Elicia sleeps in when I babysit for Hughes."

Edward raised an eyebrow, "You mean Mr. Hughes?" he asked, he didn't know that Roy was actually friends with any of the teachers.

"Yeah, Maes and I go way back, we were friends in high school. He was the one that got me my car," Roy explained, chuckling a bit. "Anyway, I'll get you some new sheets as soon as I can. You can either stay here or come to school, I don't think you should miss any more school, but it's up to you."

Edward thought for a moment, then said, "I don't think I can go to school right now. I just need to sleep." Ed went into the room and sat on the bed with the princess sheets. The bed wasn't very big, but then again, neither was he, so it wasn't that much of a problem.

"Okay, Hayate can keep you company until I get back. Oh," Roy went into his room and grabbed a blanket off of his bed, "I didn't have a blanket in here, Elicia usually brings her own." Roy handed the blanket to Edward. It was an old knitted one that his mother had made him a long time ago. "Just rest, I'll wake you up when I get home, okay?"

Edward nodded and watched Roy leave. He sighed heavily. "What am I doing here?" he asked himself. Ed took off his boots and laid down in the bed, putting the blue blanket over himself. The blanket was soft and warm, and smelled really good, like pine needles and old spice. Hayate came into the room and jumped on the bed, lying down at Ed's feet. He had left Al a note at the apartment, in case he came back for any reason. Al's hurtful words still stung, but Edward understood; if Al had known what was _really_ going on, he would have never said any of it. Ed knew that he would have to face his brother sometime soon, but that could wait until tomorrow. For now, Edward needed his rest, he could deal with everything another time.

Roy had made it back to the school just when lunch started. Luckily, his absence went unnoticed, and if it didn't, no one seemed to care. Roy had never left school out of the blue like that before, so he guessed that they just assumed he left for a really important reason, and really, he did. The principal sat at his desk, and thought about the events of the morning. He had kissed a student, and said student was now living with him. If anyone found out, he would be in some serious trouble.

He was torn out of his thoughts by a knock on his office door. "Come in," he said, pushing all thoughts about his kiss with Edward out of his mind. The door opened, and Alphonse Elric entered the room. "Alphonse," Roy said, slightly bewildered; he wasn't expecting to see Edward's brother.

"I think I really messed up, Mr. Mustang," Al said. The boy had a deep frown on his face, and he seemed really flustered. Al didn't even sit down, he just paced in the room, rambling, "I was angry, and I was being so insensitive, I said a lot of things I didn't mean and I feel really bad, and now Ed is gone, and I don't know what to do-"

"Alphonse! Calm down, what are you talking about?"

"My brother is gone! I went over to the apartment to apologize, and I found this note! He said that he left and he hoped that my life with our dad is what I deserve and-and-" Alphonse was in hysterics, he felt terrible. "He left me and I don't know where he went! All we really have is each other, and now he's all alone! I messed up!" Alphonse finally stopped pacing, and slumped into a chair. He put his face into his hands. He was sincerely upset, and he wished he could take it all away.

"Your brother is fine, Alphonse. He wants what is best for you, and I agree that living with your father is the best choice. I spoke to Edward and he told me all about it," Roy said, keeping his tone kind and straightforward.

"When did you talk to him?" Al asked, confused.

"Earlier…he stopped by my office," Roy lied, "He feels just as bad as you do. I can't tell you where he is, but can you trust that he's in a good, safe place?" Roy said.

Alphonse looked at the principal for a moment before saying, "Are you sure? He can eat a lot, and he's very picky, what if-?"

"There will always be plenty of food for Edward, I promise. If he's so picky, then he can specifically ask for things," Roy assured Alphonse, offering a slight smile.

Alphonse smiled back, feeling slightly better. "You can't tell me where he is?"

Roy shook his head, "Nope."

"But he's safe?"

"Yes."

"And happy?"

Roy blinked, he wasn't expecting that. "I hope so," he answered honestly.

Alphonse sighed, and nodded, and stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "That's all that matters then. If you see him before me, can you tell him I'm sorry?" Al had a feeling Roy was definitely going to see Ed before him.

Roy nodded in agreement, "Will do, Al."

Alphonse walked to the door, but stopped right before he opened it, and turned back to the principal, "Oh, and Mr. Mustang?"

"Hm?"

"Edward really likes Taco Bell. I don't know why, but he loves it, and he hasn't had it in a long time. He's really picky, though, and he only likes bean and cheese burritos with no onions. And he hates milk. That would be useful information to whoever he was staying with," Alphonse smiled, bid adieu, and left.


	11. Chapter 11

~**I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story! I have had a lot going on in my life and I haven't had the time to work on this. Hopefully I will be able to update more often. Here's the next part! Enjoy!~**

After school was over, Roy decided that he wasn't going to stay after for hours and do work, like he normally would. Not a lot happened today, so he really didn't have much to do anyway. Roy locked his office before heading out to his car. "Mustang! I don't think I've ever seen you leave this early!" Roy looked up from the key in the locked door and grinned at his friend and fellow educator, Maes Hughes.

"I'm feeling a little tired, so I thought I would go home and get some rest," Roy explained.

Maes nodded in understanding. "Yeah, good, you deserve some rest," he said, then added, "So that Elric kid didn't come to school again, the older one, Ed. A lot of the teachers are kind of worried about him. Do you think he's alright?"

Roy kept his expression as flat and professional as possible. "Oh?" he said, turning his attention back to his keys. He didn't want to give off any clue of what had happened between him and the student in question. "I'm sure he's fine, Maes. He didn't have the best record coming to this school in the first place. Maybe he's just one of those kids that like to skip school. If he doesn't do the homework then give him detention, otherwise it would be best to ignore his absences." Being a principal for as long as he's been, Roy knew every kind of student that there was, so it was easy to categorize Edward as a "trouble-maker"-even though that was the farthest thing from what that boy really was. Thankfully, Hughes accepted his answer.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure he will be back to class tomorrow. Hopefully he will have his work done. If he gets too far behind, he might not graduate." Hughes didn't like the idea of one of his students not graduating. "Anyway, I need to get home or Elicia will lecture me on how late I am. Isn't she just precious?"

Roy blocked out Hughes' ramblings about his daughter, and waved goodbye to his overly-caring friend as he entered his car and drove away. Roy lived close to the school, but just far enough away so that students wouldn't know where he lived. There were a few kids that would probably vandalize his home if they got the chance.

On his way home, Roy remembered what Alphonse had told him about Edward liking Taco Bell, so he decided to stop by the fast food place and get Ed a couple of bean and cheese burritos-with no onions, just like Al had said. Roy scrunched his nose when he took the food from the woman in the drive-thru. "How is this even accepted as food?" Roy thought to himself out loud. "Teenagers will eat anything." Roy had never eaten fast food in his life, because it just never sounded appealing to him. Why would he want to eat fake, gross food that wasn't good for him in any way? Especially when he was perfectly capable of cooking his own food.

Roy lived within walking distance of the Taco Bell, (which was probably a good thing, if Edward liked it as much as Alphonse said he did) so it didn't take him long to get home after that. Roy wondered what Edward could possibly be doing right now, and his question was answered as soon as he opened the door to his home.

Edward was standing in the living room, with Hayate sitting in front of him, his tail wagging happily. "Alright, you little mutt," Edward said sternly to the dog, his arms crossed, "If you jump on me one more time, I swear I'll-" Edward didn't get to finish, because Hayate excitedly jumped up on Edward, knocked him down, and licked his face. Edward looked like he wanted to be irritated, but he couldn't stay mad at the dog. Roy smiled, and shut the front door.

"Hayate, down," Roy said with humor in his voice. The dog obeyed and came over to greet his owner. "Good boy" he said, patting the dog's head lovingly. Then, he turned to Edward, who was still on the ground, but he was sitting up with his arms wrapped around his knees and looking at Mustang. "Here," Roy said, tossing the Taco Bell bag at Edward. Ed's eyes widened happily as he took out the burrito. He looked at it for a moment, before Roy said, "No onions," then he devoured it without a second thought.

"How did you know I don't like onions?" Edward asked, his mouth full of food. Ed was glad that Roy had gotten him more than one, because he hadn't eaten all day.

"Alphonse told me," Roy replied, then added, "He wanted me to tell you that he is sorry." Roy watched Edward, trying to read his emotions, but when Ed didn't want someone to know what he was feeling, he was really good at keeping his expression blank.

"I know he is," Ed said after a moment. His tone held no emotion, "everything will be okay when I see him tomorrow." Edward forced a smile, and really tried to believe that everything would be okay. Changing the subject, Ed said, "Thank you for the food, anyway. You really didn't have to get it for me..." Roy was doing so much for him already, and he didn't want to be a burden.

Roy rolled his eyes at Edward. "I know I didn't have to, I wanted to, so hush. I want you to feel comfortable here, Edward." Roy loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket before flopping down on the couch. He closed his eyes and sighed. Just the past few days have been long and stressful, and Roy just wanted to relax. "You don't have to sit on the floor, you know." Roy said to Edward, knowing that the boy was still sitting on the floor without having to open his eyes and look at him.

Edward said nothing, but slowly got up from the floor and sat on the couch with Roy. He tried not to sit too close to his principal, not sure exactly what would be appropriate or not. Then again, this whole situation wasn't appropriate, and the kiss they shared earlier definitely wasn't appropriate to anyone's standards. The silence between the two wasn't awkward, but Edward was never really that comfortable with long moments of silence. "Thank you again, for letting me stay here..." Ed said. It was never easy for him to express gratitude, since he's never had many chances in his life to do so.

"Really, Edward, it's no big deal-"

"It is a big deal," Edward cut him off. "You're doing a lot for me. You could get in a butt-load of trouble for this, but you're doing it anyway. That means a lot, and it's a huge deal." Edward wished he knew how to express himself better, though Mustang seemed to understand anyway.

"Yes, I could get in trouble. I could get in trouble for a lot of things-doesn't mean I will," Roy said with a somewhat cocky tone. "Besides, you deserve to be treated right. You've been through a lot."

Edward sighed. "Yeah, I have been," he agreed. Edward wasn't one to feel sorry for himself, but he's gone through more than anyone deserves. It was quiet again. Edward had no idea what to say, and Roy had too much that he wanted to say, and he couldn't figure out where to start or how to word anything. Roy wanted to know everything about Edward. He wanted to know how things got so terrible for Edward, why he did what he did to get expelled from his last school, why he wore a jacket and gloves all the time, and most of all, Roy wanted to know what he could do to fill the emptiness in Ed's eyes. Still, the correct words wouldn't form in Roy's mind. What could he say to this kid that wouldn't sound like cliche bullshit?

Luckily for Roy, Edward decided to break the silence again. "Why do you live alone? Don't you have a girlfriend or anything?" Ed simply couldn't believe that someone like Roy could be single.

Roy wasn't expecting that question, and really, he shouldn't be talking about his personal life with a student, but then again, this wasn't such a big deal compared to everything else. Roy decided that he needed to stop thinking of Edward as a student, and start thinking of him as a person. "No, no girlfriend. I'm a bachelor," Roy chuckled, trying to seem less pathetic. Being almost thirty and not married wasn't exactly something to be proud of. "I go on dates all the time, but I guess I haven't found the right person to really settle down with." Or, in less professional terms, he liked to have sex and he hasn't yet met someone that was good enough for him to want to commit to. Women called him a pig, but really he always makes his intentions clear from the beginning. Women always seem to think that they will be the one that would get him to settle down, and they always get butt-hurt when they end up like the woman before them. It got annoying after a while.

"Well, when you do find the right one, she will be one lucky woman," Edward said, not really looking at Roy.

Roy chuckled. "I like how you assume I'll be settling down with a woman. It gives my masculinity an ego boost." Roy hasn't been interested in women for a while now. He was always very open when it came to sexual partners, and as he grew older, Roy realized that he actually preferred men over women. If he made his intentions clear with a man, the man would understand and wouldn't get any false hope, like a woman would. Men were so much easier.

Edward looked up at Roy with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean?" he asked, then, his face flushed red when he realized what Roy meant. He didn't know why it surprised him so much that Roy would want to settle down with a man, after all, he was a man, and Roy had kissed him earlier this morning, didn't he? "Oh...um...never mind..." Edward said awkwardly. All his life Ed thought that being gay was something to be ashamed of, but apparently, it wasn't. "So...you're gay, then?"

Roy blinked. He had never particularly liked labeling himself as straight or gay or anything like that. "I like men, yes, but women are nice too. I don't think I could ever marry a woman, though." Roy looked at Edward, and saw his flushed face. He thought that was actually kind of cute.

After hesitating for a moment, Edward looked down at his lap and said, "I like men." Roy said nothing, he just looked at Edward, and waited for him to continue. "That's only the second time I've ever said that out loud," Edward said, finding it hard to find the right words to say. After all, the first time he said it, it caused a whole lot of trouble for him. "But...I don't like what I've done, or who I am." Edward clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly. Just thinking about his recent actions made him sick, and it made him want to cry, but he wouldn't let himself do that.

Roy looked at the boy next to him sadly. He wanted to make him feel better somehow, but he really didn't know what to do. He put his hand on Edward's back and rubbed it lightly, trying his best to sooth him. Edward wanted Roy to hold him like he did earlier, but he wasn't about to ask for that kind of thing. "Well, I think you're a pretty great person that's been through some terrible things. You are still young, Edward. You have many more years to like who you are. I think you're a very bright young man and you can do anything you put your mind to," Roy said, smiling at Edward. "Now, I'd hate to be a stick in the mud, but you have some homework to catch up on, or you're going to get detention with Mr. Hughes, and believe me you don't want to spend your lunch hour listening to him babble about his family."

That caused Edward to chuckle slightly. "Yeah, you're right, I guess I should work on that," he agreed.

"Good!" Roy ruffled up Ed's hair a bit and stood up. "You do your work while I make me some dinner. If you need help, don't hesitate to ask. After you're done we could watch a movie or something," he said, then left to the kitchen to start on his dinner.


End file.
